The Differences Between Liking and Loving
by SweetDreamz2414
Summary: Draco reveals some of his true feelings to Hermione, accidently, and his doing so causes some problems..... takes place in their 7th year.
1. The Truth

It was a warm, sunny day in mid-September. While Draco could have been outside with his two sidekicks (trying to push people in the lake), he was walking through the hallways of the castle on his way to his first Head Boy/Head Girl meeting. He, of course, was the Head Boy.  
  
The only two candidates candidates for Head Boy were himself and Harry Potter. Draco knew that if it were up to the teachers, Potter would win, hands down. But by a lucky chance, it wasn't up to the teachers. They didn't have any say in it at all.  
  
  
  
Professor Dumbledore had spoken to Harry and Draco privately on the first day of classes, informing them on his decision. "The only reason you were chosen, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said calmly, "is because Mr. Potter is till in a great deal of danger, as Lord Voldemort is still in power and has not yet been captured. I feel that becoming Head Boy would cause a bit of unwanted publicity, which would not be safe for him at this time."  
  
Dumbledore had gone on to apologize to Harry, and then sent him on his way. He then explained all the duties of being Head Boy, but Draco wasn't listening. All he could think about was that he, Draco Malfoy, had beaten the famous Harry Potter for Head Boy.  
  
Harry didn't seem to be too bothered that he hadn't received the honors of being Head Boy. After all, he was the most popular boy in school, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and had a girlfriend who was the object of every boy at Hogwarts affection. She was also the Head Girl.  
  
She was, of course, Hermione Granger.  
  
Hermione Granger was not the bossy, know it all that so many people had gotten to know. Well, actually, she was still a bit bossy and almost too smart for her own good, but that was beside the point. Her bushy mane transformed over the years into a head of silky, tousled curls, and her skinny frame became a body with curves in all the right places. She was perfect in Draco's eyes, despite the fact that she was a Muggle-born, a Gryffindor Muggle-born. He, like so many other boys, wanted her, but they couldn't have her, and that made her all the more irresistible.  
  
As Draco turned down the hall toward the room where he and Hermione had arranged to meet, his thoughts turned to her. He knew how Hermione felt about him. She thought he was a cold, heartless asshole who had no other purpose in life except to make other's miserable. Which was true sometimes, but he couldn't help it. The insults just came out. He was raised in a family that promoted putting others down, especially Mudbloods. '  
  
"Filthy Mudbloods!" Draco could hear his father's voice echoing in his head. "Don't ever have anything to do with them, Draco. Their magic will never be as good as a pureblood's. They shouldn't even be allowed at Hogwarts!"  
  
Draco school his head, trying to rid his brain of those untrue thoughts. As he approached the door of the meeting room, he whispered to himself, "Be nice, Draco. Be nice."  
  
Smoothing down his hair, he turned the handle, pushed the door open, and swaggered in. Hermione sat stiffly in a chair, her right leg crossed over her left, and a Muggle notebook across her lap. She was writing something, and she didn't acknowledge that Draco was there at all.  
  
"Hello to you too, Granger," Draco said nastily, taking a seat across from Hermione. He scowled, pretending to be angry. Inside he was kicking himself. Why couldn't he just be nice? Why?  
  
Hermione looked up and scowled right back. Draco could feel his face flush as her big brown eyes bored into his.  
  
"Look, Malfoy," she snapped icily. "We are going to make this short and quick. I don't want to be here any more than you do. Don't make this difficult!"  
  
But I do want to be here! Draco cried inside his head. I could stay in here with you forever!  
  
"Mudbloods, Draco, " his father's voice echoed again. "The filth of the wizarding race!"  
  
"Fine, Granger," Draco replied, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms above his head. "If you want to be that way, fine."  
  
Hermione turned to a fresh page in her notebook. "Well, Malfoy, how would you like to do this? Why don't you decide? You're the Head Boy."  
  
Draco leaned forward. He sneered. "Well, you're the Head Girl. The Head Girl who's top of the class, who's just so smart, who thinks she can take control of everything."  
  
She took a deep breath. He could see he was getting to her, but he didn't get the same pleasure as he usually did.  
  
She leaned forward like him, keeping her face a few inches away from his. "What do you want from me, Malfoy?" she whispered. "Why are you like this?"  
  
Draco stared into her eyes. They were a warm, chestnut brown, and they searched his own gray ones, looking for an answer. Looking for a weakness, for something that could prove he wasn't the rebel he seemed to be.  
  
Little does she know, that thing is her, Draco thought.  
  
Her jaw was set. She was prepared for an insult, for a smart-ass comment. It didn't come.  
  
"I-I…" he stuttered. "I don't know."  
  
Her face softened a little. Draco expected her to say something kind, something to prove she understood how he felt. But that was too much to hope for.  
  
She laughed. "The great Draco Malfoy, God's gift to mankind, doesn't know what he wants? Please tell me you're kidding."  
  
Draco said nothing. He sat back in his chair, staring furiously at the wall behind Hermione. He didn't blink; he didn't look at her. He didn't do anything at all. He could feel Hermione's eyes burning into him, but he didn't care.  
  
"Malfoy?" Hermione said impatiently. "Back to Earth."  
  
Draco was silent for a moment before he finally spoke.  
  
"You think you know everything, don't you?" he said quietly. "You think that because you have two surrogate big brothers to take care of you, one of them your boyfriend, and that you're top of the class, and that every guy in this school wants you, including me, you have the whole world on your side. You think that you've got it all figured out. Well, things don't work out that way, Hermione. They just don't."  
  
He left Hermione sitting there, gaping at him, as he walked calmly from the room. 


	2. A/N

Author's Note  
  
Okay, I know, it's been awhile. But I haven't been able to come up with anything for my fic that I wouldn't be embarrassed to put on this website. I am an eternal perfectionist, so if it's less than what my idea of perfect is, then it's not good enough. But I do have something coming for You're Not The Person You Think You Are, and it should be up in the next couple of weeks. I also have an idea for a new fic that doesn't have anything to do with Malfoy, but it is a romance! I'm not going to give it away, but look forward to it!  
  
I wanna thank the people who have me such positive feedback in the reviews! I didn't think you'd like it so much! Thanks!  
  
I didn't put a disclaimer for the first chapter, so here it is now: I do not own any of the characters in this story! They all belong to the brilliant, talented J.K. Rowling.  
  
Well I'm out! Keep checking back every week or so to see if I have the next chapter up! 


	3. 3. Late at Night

You're Not The Person You Think You Are- Late At Night  
  
I finally have another chapter up!!! It's been so long, and I hope you like it!  
  
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the characters in this story, as they all belong to J.K Rowling, who is brilliant, talented, an incredible writer, and I will never live up to her standards. Oh well.  
  
Feedback: I love feedback! Please tell me any thoughts you have, any additions to the plot you would like to see, anything. And if there is something you don't like, please tell me, but in the nicest way possible, because criticism tends to send me over the edge. So just tell me how I could improve the story or whatever, because this is my first fic and I would appreciate any kind of help.  
  
  
  
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Hermione sat still on her chair, trying to register in her mind what had just happened. There was no possible way that Malfoy could ever think her the least bit attractive. And there was definitely no way that Malfoy would ever show any kind of emotion, not anything that would hint that he actually has feelings. The day that Malfoy has feelings is that day that Neville gets passing marks in Potions.  
  
Well, maybe….  
  
Hermione lept up from her chair and scurried into the hallway. Halfway down to the marble staircase was Malfoy, walking without his usual cocky swagger. Hermione started to jog after him, calling "Malfoy! Malfoy!" But he showed no recognition that he even knew she was there, despite his back stiffening at her words.  
  
"Malfoy!" she called out again. "Wait!"  
  
But he had already reached the marble staircase, and he began to run down them, leaving Hermione alone in the now otherwise empty hallway, her voice echoing off the cold stone walls.  
  
  
  
  
  
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Despite the warm, sunny weather, Hermione stayed inside the castle, wandering the halls and eventually finding herself in the library. She walked among the shelves, pulling out every book that caught her eye and bringing it over to a table in the far corner. Taking a seat at the table, she immersed herself in the books, temporarily forgetting about her problems.  
  
She sat there the entire afternoon, and when the dinner bell rang, she gasped and jumped in her seat. She considered her options: go down to dinner and have to see Malfoy, or stay here and starve. Her stomach got the best of her in the end, and she reluctantly left the library for the Great Hall.  
  
As Hermione walked between the tables in the Great Hall, she was aware for the first time in her life about who was looking at her. During her first six years at Hogwarts, she had been so completely involved in her studies that she had no time to worry about what people thought of her, but now it made her rather uncomfortable. She shot a dirty look at a fifth year boy whose eyes lingered a bit too long on her chest, and she straightened her Head Girl badge.  
  
Hermione took a quick glance at the Slytherin table. Malfoy was sitting in his usual seat, right in the center on one side of the table, with Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him. He ate his food quietly with his head down, which was quiet unlike him.  
  
Swallowing, Hermione turned toward the Gryffindor table. Spotting Harry and Ron, she clapped both of them on the back of the head as she sat between them.  
  
"Owww…Hermione…" Ron moaned. Ron, being unusually tall, even as a young boy, had grown to well past six feet. He had lost his gawky manner he had had for such a long time, and ever since he joined the Quidditch team as Keeper in his fifth year, he had acquired a rather muscular body. On the inside, he was still the same, whiny Ron Weasley with flaming red hair, and Hermione was glad that at least that hadn't changed.  
  
"Aww, poor Ronniekins, did I hurt you?" Hermione teased, smiling. She leaned back against Harry, who was pulling her into him in a strange hug.  
  
"And where have you been all day, Miss Head Girl?" Harry asked her in a Professor McGonagall-like tone. Harry, too , had changed, in nearly the same ways as Ron. He was taller, though Ron still topped him by several inches, and his scrawniness had changed into muscles. Ever since Hermione had begun to date him in her sixth year, she couldn't believe she had gotten so lucky, even though he was one of her best friends. On the inside, he was still the same Harry Potter Hermione had gotten to know, who worries way too often and tends to take small defeats at heart.  
  
"Didn't you have that thingy this morning?" Ron asked, his mouth full of steak and potatoes. 'That thing with Malfoy?"  
  
"Oh…yes…" Hermione replied, helping herself to Harry's soup. "It didn't go as expected… whatever we were supposed to get done, we didn't, and we got into an argument and he stormed out."  
  
Luckily, Harry and Ron didn't ask what the argument was about, because if they would have found out the truth, Hemione suspected there would have been some sort of fight.  
  
"I can't believe that Malfoy, of all people, would get Head Boy," Harry said disgustedly. "I don't believe that shit about it not being safe for me to be Head Boy."  
  
"I bet his daddy had something to do with it," Ron added supportively. They gave each other that knowing look, that sort of manly look they exchanged whenever they were feeling particularly vengeful. Hermione glanced over at the Slytherin table, seeing Malfoy looking at her with an expression on his face she couldn't read. He looked away very quickly.  
  
Hermione ate her dinner, watching Harry and Ron's latest impersonations. Tonight it was Professor Trelawney, and it was quite funny. It lifted her out of the mopey mood she had been in all day. The three of them left the Great Hall, Hermione linking arms with Harry and trying to trip Ron as they walked. Hermione wanted to go retreat back to the library, but Harry and Ron dragged her into the Gryffindor Common Room with them. She was forced to watch two lengthy games of wizards' chess, Ron winning them both. At the end of each game, Ron had a large pile of Harry's pieces laying next to him.  
  
Around eleven o'clock, Ron went up to bed, leaving Harry and Hermione alone in the common room. They lay on the floor next to each other, Harry's arm draped around Hermione, hugging her to him protectively. Hermione knew how she made him feel better about himself, how good it made him feel to have someone to love and protect, and to love and protect him back. They didn't need words to express their feelings.  
  
It was midnight when they shared a goodnight kiss and went off their separate ways to their dormitories. As Head Girl, Hermione had her own room, and she rustled around in the dark there. She wasn't ready to go to bed. She changed into a scarlet robe with the Head Girl emblem embroidered on the breast pocket and tiptoed down the stairs, out of the common room, and in the hallway. The Fat Lady snored in her frame as Hermione walked silently away from Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Despite being Head Girl, Hermione didn't think her privileges included sneaking around the caste during after-hours. Hoping she wouldn't get caught, she managed to find her way to the Head Girl's bathroom.  
  
The walls and floor of the room were made of white marble with primrose curtains hanging from the windows. The bathtub was the size of a small pool, with consistently warm water and a never-ending stream of rose- colored bubbles. Hermione stripped of her robe and slid into the water, lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was relaxing, to finally have real time alone, without having to worry about books or relationships or stupid Head Boy/Girl meetings to N.E.W.T.S. or whatever. She closed her eyes, basking in the total and complete silence.  
  
Slowly, Hermione began to come back from her semi-mediating state. She washed her hair and body, and got out of the tub. She towel-dried her hair and patted her body dry, then slipped quietly out of the bathroom.  
  
She had just climbed a staircase into a dim hallway. Frowning, she shied away from moonlight coming from a set of windows, and suddenly felt uneasy, like someone was watching her.  
  
Who else would be here this late at night? Hermione thought, walking more quickly. But then she felt something under her foot, something warm but bony, and she heard a sharp cry. "Ouch!"  
  
Hermione gasped as whoever-or whatever- it was moved into the moonlight. It was-  
  
  
  
  
  
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A/N: Is that a good cliffhanger? Can you guess who it is? Please review!! I need positive feedback! 


	4. Betrayal

Chapter 4-Betrayal  
  
  
  
~Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story. You get the picture.  
  
~Feedback: Yes, please! Constructive criticism only, please.  
  
~Rated PG for brief, I repeat BRIEF sexuality and a teensy bit of bad language.  
  
I want to thank the people who reviewed my last chapter! Thanks!!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Betrayal  
  
  
  
Two in the morning is not a time to be wandering about the castle. There are serious consequences for students who are out of bed after hours, even for the Head Boy. But Draco didn't really care.  
  
He had gone to bed early, just to escape from Crabbe and Goyle, whose stupidity had begun to annoy him. After lying in bed for three and a half hours, he discovered he wasn't really that sleepy, and now here he was, walking in the dark hallways of Hogwarts. He didn't even know where he was. With some luck, he'd be right by Dumbledore's headquarters, and the headmaster would hear him, and he would get into serious trouble and be removed of the honors of Head Boy. And maybe, Potter would take over where he left off. Draco was sure Potter would do a much better job, anyway. It would certainly make Hermione happy.  
  
Draco scowled, thinking of Hermione. He remembered the way she acted with Potter and Weasley at dinner: carefree, relaxed, and blissfully happy. He wished she would act like that with him instead of being so distant. But then again, Potter was her boyfriend, and Weasley might as well have been, because she was just as close to him as he was to Potter.  
  
Why, Draco thought, do I have to nearly be in love with Hermione? There were plenty of other girls at Hogwarts who were just as pretty as her, even in Slytherin. But none of them seemed the same as Hermione; they didn't have the same charm, the same charisma.  
  
Father would like her, Draco thought. She has the best marks in our year, and she's Head Girl. If only she weren't Muggle-born,  
  
He scowled again. Why did his father have to be so fucking prejudiced? What is wrong with people who aren't born to a wizarding family? Why does it make them less of a person? Draco knew that if his father ever had even the tiniest hint of a clue that is son had feelings for a Muggle-born, a Gryffindor one at that, he would have a fit. Draco would be a disgrace to the Malfoy family. He would probably even be disowned.  
  
These thoughts made Draco so angry, he didn't realize where he was going. The next thing he knew, he was jerked back to reality by something stepping down hard on his foot. He let out a sharp cry, clutching his foot in one hand and cursing under his breath, hopping on his non-injured foot into the moonlight streaming in from a nearby window.  
  
Then he saw her. Hermione, Gaping at him in her scarlet bathrobe. Draco forgot about the pain and gaped back.  
  
"What are YOU doing here?" they cried in unison.  
  
"I couldn't sleep," Draco sneered. "And I suppose YOU just came from a bath?"  
  
She certainly looked it. Her hair hung around her face and down to her shoulders in loose damp tendrils, and her bathrobe wasn't tied properly, revealing the glistening, creamy skin between her breasts.  
  
"Yes, actually, I did," Hermione snapped back. "You seem to have a problem with it."  
  
Frowning, Draco studied her. Her expression didn't match her tone of voice. Her eyes were sparkling and she seemed to be fighting a smile.  
  
"What?" Draco asked, confused.  
  
Hermione started giggling. "You-you just look so odd, balancing on one foot and holding your other foot in the other-"  
  
He looked down, and sure enough, he was still doing just that. He let his foot go sheepishly, while Hermione burst into silent laughter. She clutched her stomach, gasping for breath.  
  
"It's not funny," Draco said loudly, trying to hold back a grin. Hermione's smile lit up her face.  
  
Shhh," Hermione whispered, putting one hand on his shoulder and two finger on his lips. "Someone will hear you."  
  
Draco looked into her eyes, and for the first time in the seven years he'd known her, she wasn't angry. Her chocolate eyes were full of laughter, and she had never acted this way around him before. He liked this side of her. She was so happy, so playful, he couldn't help it.  
  
He kissed her.  
  
He didn't know what led him to it, he just leaned forward and kissed her. On the lips. She looked back, her eyes as wide as tea saucers and her mouth open in surprise. Draco could feel his face flushing.  
  
I-I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I don't-"  
  
He was cut off by Hermione pushing him up against the window; her eyes closed and her lips pushing against his. Draco looked back at her with wide eyes, but he followed her movements, closing his eyes and slowly kissing her back.  
  
The two were pressed up against the window in a passionate embrace, kissing each other right there in the moonlight, as though the hadn't a care in the world. But suddenly, Hermione pulled away.  
  
"Oh God," she moaned, clapping a hand to her forehead. "Oh my God. What the hell am I doing?"  
  
"Well, you were kissing me," Draco said snidely, trying to pull her back, but she stayed put.  
  
"Harry," she whispered. Draco felt his heart sink.  
  
"Look, Malfoy," she said softly, taking his hand. " I like you. I do. Behind the smart-ass comments and your intimidating personality, you're a wonderful person. I know you are, you just put up a barrier so no one will ever know. But it's different with Harry. I love him, and there's a difference between liking someone and loving them. What I just did with you was wrong, even though I enjoyed it. If Harry ever finds out about this, he'll be heartbroken. He doesn't need any more heartbreak or betrayal in his life, and when one of the few people in his life he knows he can trust betrays him, I don't want to think about how he'll feel. He's had more of that in his seventeen years than we'll ever feel in a lifetime. I hope you understand, Malfoy. I-I-I just can't do this."  
  
Her eyes shone with tears as she squeezed his hand briefly. Then she tore off down the hallway into the darkness. Not for the first time, Draco was alone, feeling angry, hurt, and empty.  
  
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A/N: I know, kind of short, but I think it's okay, considering I scribbled it down on seven sheets of notebook paper in and hour and a half (which is short for me. The other chapters took me several days to come up with). So please, R/R! I appreciate it. ^_^  
  
  
  
  
  
(¨`·.·´¨) (¨`·.·´¨)  
  
`·.¸(¨`·.·´¨)¸.·´  
  
×`·.¸.·´× 


	5. The Differences Between Liking and Lovin...

The Differences Between Liking and Loving  
  
Well, this is it! The end, the last chapter. I'm sad, I loved writing this, no matter how long it took me. I want to thank FoxiGirl for helping me with this!! You're the greatest! ^_^ As you can see, I also changed the name of the story from "You're Not The Person You Think You Are" to "The Differences Between Liking and Loving." It fits the story better.  
  
Disclaimer: I hate these things. But I don't want to get sued, so here goes: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THIS STORY. There.  
  
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Ron saw everything. He was in the common room, searching for his books, since he couldn't sleep anyway, when Hermione snuck through the portrait hole. He couldn't help but wonder where she'd be going at such an hour, and curiosity got the best of him. He tiptoed up to the boy's dormitories, took the invisibility cloak from Harry's trunk, and went unseen out through the portrait hole. Hermione was long gone by then, but determined to find her, he wandered the halls for quite a bit, looking. He had just about given up when voices led him to a moonlit hallway, where he saw her sucking face with Malfoy! Shocked, he took off back to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Or at least that's what he told her, that morning in the common room before breakfast, while Harry was writing to Sirius in the owlry.  
  
"Why didn't you say anything, Ron?" Hermione whispered angrily. "Instead of trying to SPY on me?"  
  
"How could you do that?" Ron kissed silently. "Think about who you're doing that to. Think about who you were KISSING How do you think Harry will feel when he finds out?"  
  
"You don't understand, Ron!" Hermione cried, rubbing her forehead. "You don't know the whole story!"  
  
"Oh, I don't?" Ron raised his eyebrows. "What else is there to know? You made out with Draco in the middle of the night. You're going to have to tell Harry."  
  
"I can't!" Hermione's eyes filled with tears, and Ron's face softened a bit.  
  
"Well, then I will," he told her gently. "He has-"  
  
Hermione couldn't take it. She ran away, up the stairs and around the corner to her quarters, leaving Ron dumbfounded in the common room.  
  
She locked the door with her wand and stayed there all day. She lay on her bed and cried and cried, and eventually fell asleep. Even her dreams were full of visions of Harry and Draco, both looking hurt and angry.  
  
When she woke up, it was nearly dinnertime. Her stomach growled furiously; she hadn't eaten since dinner last night. She didn't want to go down to the Great Hall and have to see everyone, she was afraid of what could possibly happen. But she couldn't stay up here forever and starve. Against her will, she cleaned herself up a bit before heading down to the Great Hall.  
  
The halls weren't quite as deserted as Hermione would have liked, and many of the people she passed threw her dirty looks and made comments such as, "Did you enjoy your little make-out session with Malfoy last night, Granger?" and "Looks like our Head Girl isn't quite as perfect as she's supposed to be, isn't that right?" Hermione could have written them up, but she didn't want anyone to dislike her any more than they already did. She couldn't believe how fast word had traveled, and she wondered just how many people Ron told.  
  
There was a large crowd near the entrance to the Great Hall. Hermione couldn't see who they were crowding around, and she didn't care, frankly. She was just about to push past them when Ron appeared from nowhere and grabbed her wrist.  
  
"Hermione, you came just in time, Harry and Malfoy are getting into this huge row, if you don't get in here now-" he told her firmly, and pulled her through all the people despite her repeated refusals.  
  
Harry and Malfoy were being restrained by several people when Hermione approached, and Malfoy gave her a pleading look as he was dragged away. Harry shook himself free, stepping slowly forward, his gaze steady on Hermione. He took one of her hands in both of his, and she stared down at the floor, trembling. There had been quite a bit of noise earlier, but now it was deathly silent.  
  
"Hermione," he said softy, yet everyone around heard his words. Reluctantly, she brought her eyes up to meet his. "Hermione, I know you've never lied to me before, please don't start now. Tell me, did you-did you-"  
  
His gaze flickered to Malfoy and back again, and there was no need to complete the question.  
  
Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes, threatening to spill over and cascade down over her cheeks. Harry searched her eyes with his own, seeing the pain, sorrow, and regret there, and he had his answer. With a small heartrending sigh, he dropped her hand and began to turn away.  
  
"Wait." Everyone looked in surprise at the speaker.  
  
It was Draco Malfoy.  
  
Harry looked back at him, curiosity and loathing obviously warring for control of his emotions. He finally settled on an emotionless mask.  
  
"What do you want, Malfoy?" he spat out angrily.  
  
"Draco almost changed his mind right then and there. It would be so much easier to keep his mouth shut, to let Harry take the pain of another betrayal.  
  
But then Draco's gaze fell on Hermione. She was staring at the floor, pain, embarrassment, and immense sadness displayed clearly on her face, tears running unchecked down her face. Suddenly, she looked up at him, and he saw in her eyes, besides the tears and regret, a sort of wild hope.  
  
He knew then what he had to do. This is for you, Hermione, he thought.  
  
"It was my fault, Potter. I kissed her first. I started it all. He couldn't bring himself to meet Harry's eyes.  
  
"What?" Harry sounded like he wanted to deck him, yet you could hear the numbness in his voice. "But-but she kissed you back. She must like you."  
  
Draco forced himself to look at Harry. "Yes, Potter, she does like me. She told me so herself. " He allowed a small, bitter smile to cross his lips. "But that was also when she told me that she loved you."  
  
Harry's eyes got big. Draco swallowed hard, and he continued. "You see, Potter, there's a big difference between liking someone and loving someone." His paled, ice-hued eyes fastened on Hermione's warm brown ones.  
  
"Can't you see?" Draco snarled quietly, looking away from Hermione's hopeful, disbelieving face. "Hermione may like me, but she doesn't love me. However, she does love you. Now don't be a fool and throw it all away, Potter." His voice shook and threatened to crack. "You don't know how lucky you really are."  
  
And with that, he was running back to the dungeons. For the first time in his life, he didn't fight the tears. He let them fall freely down his face, a vision of Hermione's appreciative face imprisoned in his mind.  
  
Meanwhile, back outside the Great Hall, a large crowd whooped and cheered around a now happy couple who fell into each other's arms in a loving embrace. There were no words needed. All they knew was how much they loved each other, and once in awhile, something comes along that makes you truly appreciate it. But sometimes, that something is really a someone who you never thought could teach you such a valuable lesson.  
  
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KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.  
  
Draco lay on his bed. Ignoring the knocks. It was late, he didn't want to be bothered.  
  
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.  
  
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.  
  
"Dammit!" Draco flung himself out of bed and threw open the door. "What the hell do you-"  
  
He stopped. There was no one there. Puzzled, he looked up and down the hall, seeing no one.  
  
"Sir, sir, I is sorry to bother you so late, sir," a squeaky voice from down below said nervously. Draco looked down, and his jaw dropped.  
  
"Dobby?" he gasped. "I haven't seen you for years!"  
  
Dobby smiled weakly at him and held out a folded sheet of parchment. "Here, sir, a young miss wanted me to deliver this to you. Have a good night, sir."  
  
Before Draco could get another word in, Dobby had vanished. Draco slowly unfolded the sheet of parchment, recognizing the perfect, neat, handwriting:  
  
"Draco, I can't thank you enough for what you said tonight. It must have taken a lot of courage, and I admire you for that. I know you're lonely, Draco, but someday, someone will be able to break through all those walls you've built around your heart. You won't always be alone. Love, Hermione."  
  
Draco held the parcment tightly in his hands, staring into the darkness. He wondered just how long it would be before her words came true. Then he realized that they already had. He wasn't alone. Someone already had broken through the walls he built around his heart. That someone was of course...  
  
Hermione.  
  
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Yea! It's finished! I hope you like it!! Please review ^_^ Thanks to everyone who already has reviewed and encouraged me! Love ya lots! 


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